General Craft & DIY discussion

I grew up on a farm way out in the sticks before recycling or even regular trash pickup. Nothing was ever wasted, though. Small farms don't have a lot of cash, so everything was used until it wouldn't & then we found another way to use it. We called it 'making do', although repurposing fits well enough.

What do you recycle or repurpose?

Jim wrote: "I grew up on a farm way out in the sticks before recycling or even regular trash pickup. Nothing was ever wasted, though. Small farms don't have a lot of cash, so everything was used until it wou..."

On this small farm the rule holds true. Everything is used and reused until it's falling apart and then it becomes raw materials for something else.

I think it still does on most farms, Foxtower. It's actually a wonderful way to live at times. Keeps the creative juices flowing. Still, I like being able to buy what I need, too. I don't expect this place to support me as we did when I was growing up. Now I support it, so I can pick & choose a bit more.

Back when we first got the farm in MD in the 70's, the small back porch needed the walls fixed. We wound up taking apart an old outhouse to create an authentic weathered board skirt around the lower half. We had a lot of comments on how nice it looked. It was fun watching the looks on people's faces when we told them where boards came from, though.
;-)

I repurposed a fountain and made it into a humidifier.

I didn't used to be bothered by the dry Winter air.. guess I'm getting old. So anyway, I'd salvaged the fountain from the dump a few years ago, used the glass pieces that came with it for a sculpture, and had been using the pump in my bug "pond" (made from a kids swimming pool I found out in the woods) until I got a better pond pump.

I found the little fountain pump and the original ceramic container, added a bubble fountain top from the new pond pump, and it works! In two days the humidity went up 5% and it's already much more comfy in the house!



And to think... someone threw that fountain away and may have then spent $120 for a humidifier!

Very cool! Now you just need some fish in there.

Have you ever had fish? The kids & I had them for years. Erin fed those in my 'natural' tank one time. She used black pepper. Most of the fish died.

I tried fish once long ago but my wife (now the x) wouldn't leave them be and after she killed them I gave up.

The "pond" is for bugs, frogs and assorted creepy crawlers. Someday I'll have a larger one, but I started small with the kiddie pool before investing BIGBUCKS in a large one. Good thing as it took me three years to figure out how to keep the 100 gallon mini pond from getting green and slimy without chemicals. The solution was a big enough pump running a homemade filter/aerator dosed with barley straw. Next season I'll grow some barley and if that works in this climate I will be prepared for a pond that could hold fish.

My pond started as a pre-made one about 18" deep by 5' by 3'. I put in a few feeder gold fish. Then I decided I wanted a place for the birds, so I bought some of that pond liner. I think it was about 4'x8'. I dug in an area for it & let the water fall fill that new area & drain into the pre-made part where the pump lives. The shallow area gets green & full of algae that I pull out in mats a few times each summer, but the deep part stays clear, when you can see it for the lily leaves. Frogs & snails abound in it, too.

Except first thing in the spring when I put the pump back in, I don't clean the filter very often. It just creates a hole in the packed filter. I find just pumping the water helps keep it really clear, although I guess the shallow part does, too. Of course, it takes some time to balance out. It's outside, not inside, so I'm not staring at it all the time.

A pond inside the house.. that's a thought! Even the beverly hillbillies kept the seement pond outside...

My homemade filter (version 3.5)is made from a five gallon bucket with a removable and easily cleaned one gallon filter container where the water feeds into the charcoal, rough filter material and 50 then 100 micron material. It's good enough for fish. Barley straw and about 40 green scrubbies fill the treatment chamber below where bactieria do their thing before the water is circulated back up and out, falling and aerating.

Now I think I know how to create a larger gallon pond, rather than a kiddie pool burried in the yard. Trouble is here if anything is to survive the Winter it needs to be at least four feet deep....

Check out http://thepondguy.com They seem to have pretty good prices on stuff. I'd look into a pond liner unless you have a good supply of clay around.

Definitely need a liner... top three feet of the soil here is like sugar with sand.

But first I gotta save up the muny.... after all the other stuff in the cue!

I understand the budgetary issues. I have children & horses. Believe me I understand!
;-)

Check out these re-used plastic bottles. Wow! True art.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...

..and then theres the "repair" option.

I don't know how she manages it, but every time I turn around my ex has left a vacumn cleaner in pieces in the green house for me to repair!

Today being hot was a good day to catch up on her pile, in addition to the vacumn with a broken latch there was a hand weeder/hoe that has got to be 50 years old. One of the old hand tools found on the farm she's seems to like that needed a new handle. Add some picture frames that needed hangers. I managed to avoid once again "fixing" a bike she has thats so old the sprocket has lost it's hardness (keeps bending evey time she shifts). While too often Americans throw out things that need only minor repairs, eventually things do become sculpture material!

I manages to keep my wheel barrow out of the sculpture pile. It suffered from stress cracks in the metal and all the paint was flaking off. Reinforcing with bolts and fender washers, a new coat of paint and it should be good for a few more years!

Repair doesn't seem to be the most popular option any more, but I still use it when I can. Half the time, parts have to be scavenged as new ones can be more expensive than a new item since things are made so cheap over seas.

We have a vacuum for the horses. It's for cleaning off the last of the dust before a show or getting hair off when they're shedding. Some horses are prone to rain rot & it can help alleviate that condition. It has 2 motors, kind of a shop vac, but setup for finer dust. I don't know how old ours is, but the outside is devoid of paint, a fine rust finish stained with hoof dressing & fly spray, both oil based products.

I've replaced both motors within a few years of each other. They're about $100 each, but readily available from the manufacturer in WI. I think a new vacuum is about $500 & ours was old when we got it 20 years ago, but it's still going strong.

Hey, remember the days of the "repair shop"? Used to be every town had a guy that could fix everything from toasters to vacumn cleaners. Of course, then vacumns were made of steel.

There's still some parts of the world where this still holds. Not everyone is as wasteful as we Americans...

I sure do. We had a fix-it guy in Cockeysville that we took vacuums & sewing machines to. He quit doing toasters back before I got married, though.

It's not just 'Americans are wasteful', but that we don't have much choice. Mom really wanted to keep her old gas stove but even old Mr. Troyer couldn't find parts for it any more.

Planned obsolesence... waste just to create more profits... grumble, grumble....

Foxtower wrote: "Planned obsolesence... waste just to create more profits... grumble, grumble...."

Agreed. Add my grumbles, too. I don't understand how people can justify going through stuff the way they do. Quite a few people at work have had every version of the iPhone & everyone seems to get a new one at least once a year. I usually know because I have to get them connected to corporate networks & email. Worse, they do everything except fit your face right for actually making a phone call.

I have to have a cell phone, but have had mine for over 6 years now. Same battery, but it's starting to go. Luckily, a guy just brought in 2 that actually have antennas on them. They get much better reception than mine. I'm going to replace a battery in one & switch to it.

That's another pet peeve. You can't find any specs on antennas for any cell phones & they hide them inside. We don't have great reception up here, so it really matters to us. These two are old enough that they don't have cameras in them, either. Yay! Just a phone. Imagine that!

My ex gave me a cell phone she got for a dollar. Needs a battery. If indeed one can call 911 without an account it could be useful in the truck.

I don't understand the whole cell phone thing... especially "aps". Thereain't no ap thats going to weed the garden, or do much of anything useful I can see. Expensive toys basically....

It's like the whole GPS thing... gee, how did I ever get across the country and around Europe without a GPS? (heard of MAPS!)

My understanding is that cell phones use a fractal antenna, basically a circuit board inside with a fractal pattern that works over a variety of freqeuncies.

The GPS things can be nice, especially when they have up to date construction info, but they show such a tiny bit of the road that I don't care for them. I'd much rather use a map, but my wife has dyslexia & can't read one. She loves her GPS, but we have a dedicated one she can put into whichever vehicle she's driving, as needed.

I just have to carry a cell so people can call me when I'm not at home or at my desk in case of a network problem. All the rest of the stuff they do I can do better on my PC. If I'm not at the PC, I generally don't want to do it.

Treasure!

I found a microwave at the dump yesterday. My old microwave, which came from the dump years ago, has problems in that often many of the buttons don't work. It's a pain tryng to heat up supper by repeatedly hitting the coffee key!

The "new" microwave is the same brand (GE) and like my old one the paint is flaking inside (a common problem with GE), but it's missing the turntable. It looks like I can take the working controls off the new one and put them on the old one, giving me a working microwave again!

Right now I'm using the new one for a while (which works fine without a turntable) to make sure the controls work reliably and I've ordered the special paint for inside microwaves, so one way or another between the two I'll have a new looking and working unit.

About $12 to repair as opposed to well over a hundred dollars for a similar unit new!

Awesome! That's great that your dump allows you to take stuff out. Most don't any more - if they catch you. That's a shame, too.

The first microwaves didn't even have turn tables. Mom had an add-on that had to be wound up. They're nice, but not necessary. Ours went out & we lived without it for a few months.

Is the paint really necessary?

Foxtower wrote: "Treasure!

I found a microwave at the dump yesterday. My old microwave, which came from the dump years ago, has problems in that often many of the buttons don't work. It's a pain tryng to heat up s..."

Coincidence. My Sharp just gave up. I bought it in 2002. It's 1100 watts with the controls along the top instead of some China-man's better idea of putting them along the right side. Takes up about and inch and a half less counter space with top controls. Has a huge turntable too. Everything works but the fan, so LOTS of steam accumulates in the oven if I try to cook something. I looked it over and looked like a PITA to take apart. No one wants to fix them so was resigned to throwing it away (probably PAYING to throw it away). Any tips on trying to mess with the repair myself?

Unplug it first.
;-)

Sorry, couldn't resist. See if your library has anything on it or google the issue. I did a quick google on "fix sharp microwave exhaust fan" & came up with this link:
http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforu...

Might be better if you put in the model number. That site, http://www.applianceblog.com, looks pretty good.

I agree with Jim... unplug it first! No wait... half the trick is getting them apart. Mine has security screws, no problems as I bought security bits long ago, other wise I would remove them with vice grips and replace them with regular screws. Plastic usually has tabs somewhere and prying gently here and there will reveal where they are. Once you get to fan thats an easy replacement.

Paint.. I passed. expoxy costs $12, but the shipping is murder! I did clean the loose paint and rust out and the "new" one without a turntable works great!

The dump has a reusable area... otherwise the days of climbing in the dumpsters are long gone. Boy did I find treasure back then!

I bought a set of security bits, too. They're a pain. There are so many different kinds, too. The ones I really hate are the ones like Phillips head screws with angles on the take-them-out side so you can't get a grip except to tighten. Not fair!

My security bits work ok, though when recycling or repurposing it's good to have strategies for when I don't have the right bit. Vice grips are my first choice and work if I can get a grip. Second choice would be creating a slot with the dremel cutting disk (or a file) for removing it with a regular screwdriver. Third choice, if the screw is big enough, is drilling and using a removal bit (counter clockwise auger action). Finally theres simply drilling out the screw (or bolt) completely and replacing it with a bigger screw (or retapping for a bigger bolt. Last choice because keeping the drill bit centeredt can be tricky with mteals of differing hardness side by side.

I'm sure all us experienced treasure hunters have a whole big bag of similar tricks!

I use all the tricks you mentioned. I had to use the Dremel one on my planer blades. No security, just took an Allen wrench & a couple of the bolt heads weren't strong enough to hold up to the strain. Cheap steel, I guess. I will say that DeWalt was wonderful about it, though. I called them up to order new ones & explained what the problem was. They sent them to me for free even though the planer was long out of warranty.

I agree with you on drilling out screws. I never seem to keep them properly centered. I remember when Easy Outs first came out. They're wonderful unless you break them. Then you're really in the trick bag.

I've got a jar of can tabs that I plan to make into a handbag of some kind.

Kind of a chainmaille effect.
One more project I need research for.

That would be cool. Would you rivet them together?

Not rivet.

There are a bunch of ways. ill have to investigate again.
;) I seem to have forgotten already.

I know they can be put together with crochet.
The method I was going to use was different.
I'll see if I can find the page.

http://m.wikihow.com/Create-Chainmail...

Very cool, but I don't see where they solder or glue the snipped place back together. I'd be worried that a snag would easily pull it apart. This may be a needless worry, but I've spent the past decades building for my family, some fairly rough & tumble farm kids, not to mention their menageries. They were pretty tough on everything.

True ...
Could crochet them. You don't have to do the cut then.

http://crafts.creativebug.com/crochet...

That looks like it would be better. I might just start collecting pop tops. I'll bet my daughter would love such a bag.

I've been making refrigerator magnets using the really strong, rare earth magnets from speakers. I work for a company that makes sound systems for motorcycles & we did a big clean up, so I got well over 100 old speakers from 6" down to tiny. The magnets are generally less than 1" in diameter & vary in thickness from 1/8" to 3/8" in thickness.

They're very strong & have caused a few blood blisters if I get them too close together. I've been supergluing them on to small scrollsaw horses, dragons, & other shapes that I spray paint. Some I decorate with a bit of glitter or glitter glue. Pretty neat looking & they certainly won't fall off the door when it's closed!